Question: When the HAB blows and he loses his crop of potatoes, how do the other potatoes already harvested survive? They are just sitting in trays in the HAB and surely should have been destroyed by the vacuum.
Questions about specific movies, TV shows and more
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Brother From Another Series - S8-E16
Question: In this episode, Sideshow Bob seems to no longer want to kill Bart (shown by his happiness at seeing him near the dam, and later on, saving his life, as well as Lisa's). But in episodes after this e.g. "Funeral for a Fiend" and "The Great Louse Detective", Bob suddenly wants to kill Bart again. What caused him to change his mind after this episode? It can't be because he thinks Bart is responsible for sending him back to jail because in this episode when Bob and Cecil get arrested, Lisa defends Bob and says he had nothing to do with it, and Lou even backs her up by saying that Cecil confessed to the whole thing.
Chosen answer: While Sideshow Bob does rescue Bart, he never is truly over his hatred of him. At the end of "Brother From Another Series", Cecil is actually able to trick Bob into swearing revenge on Bart, which is why Bob is sent to prison despite being innocent of trying to blow up the dam, and Bart is once again his nemesis. Although time rarely passes in the show (i.e. Bart stays 10 for the most part), it's not until season 12 when Sideshow Bob appears next, and it's clear he's been in prison the whole time, with plenty of time to rebuild his anger and hatred over Bart (and Krusty).
Question: Is the shark in this one at all related to "Bruce" (the shark from the original film). The woman's line "Sharks don't take things personally Mr Brody" made me suspicious.
Answer: For what it's worth, in the novelization the shark is a female and pregnant with the offspring of the first movie's shark, but that's not brought up in the film at all.
Chosen answer: That is highly unlikely. The woman is only pointing out to Brody that he is making it a personal issue when what he is dealing with is an animal that lacks emotion, intelligence, or self-awareness and is only acting on its primal instinct.
The ironic thing is that is the entire plot line for Jaws: The revenge.
Question: In the pond scene, after the shark attacks the poor man on the paddle boat, why didn't he go after Michael too? He just swam past him, sparing him.
Answer: In addition, the original scene called for Michael to be in the arms of the man, with the man in the jaws of the shark. Michael is carried across the water and the released by the man just before the shark takes him under. Spielberg ultimately felt that this was over the top gruesome and changed the scene.
Chosen answer: The horror of "Jaws" was not so much the physical trauma of being eaten alive as it was the terror of not knowing who would be next. So, we see the panicking pier fisherman spared although the shark could have easily taken him; we see the shark randomly select the Kintner boy while sparing hundreds of other terrified people in the water at Amity's public beach; and we see the shark just barely spare Michael after eating the man in the pond. Although he wasn't physically harmed, Michael was hospitalized in shock after the encounter with the shark; so, he obviously suffered unimaginable terror. It's that "almost eaten" factor that sells the film. Captain Quint's story of the USS Indianapolis drives home the point that waiting to be eaten is as terrifying as actually being eaten, and that's what film maker Steven Spielberg very successfully conveyed all throughout the movie.
Answer: Excellent answers, and just to add one more point: the shark in the movie is not a normal one. He doesn't act just out of hunger, but also out of sheer malevolence: in fact, just like in the novel, it's implied there's *something* about him, something almost supernatural. He may have spared Michael because he had just secured a meal, to escape the gathering humans before they can harm him... or because killing the boy wouldn't have entertained him sufficiently.
Twenty-something girls vs. thirty-something women - S2-E17
Question: I have a somewhat odd question for everyone that watches Sex and the city. I got into the show about 2 or 3 years after it started running but I remember watching the episode "Twenty-Something Girls vs. Thirty-Something Women" which was the episode about Carrie and the girls going to the Hamptons and renting a house. Charlotte dates a younger guy that gives her crabs. There is commentary about comparing 20 year girls to 30 year old women and when I watched this episode originally I swear there was a different ending then what is what is shown now. I want to know if anyone else has seen this or am I absolutely insane. In the episode there is a girl that pukes on the beach - her friend holds her hair back and Carrie makes a commentary about "counting on 20 year old girls to hold your hair back." Later when Carrie sees Big with Natasha she runs to the beach and Miranda runs after her. Carrie throws up because she is upset and Miranda holds her hair back, but the version I saw changes the commentary/narration and says that you can "always count on a 30 something year old friend to hold your hair back." I haven't seen that version again. Has anyone else seen it or did I just dream this, because I swear I remember watching this when it first came out?
Answer: I'm a long-time fan of the show, having re-watched it many times, and I definitely remember slightly different dialogue at the end of that episode than what's on my DVD. I'm afraid I have no idea why this change might have been made or any other info, but you're not insane.
Question: I re-watched this movie recently. It seems everyone in the opera knows about the existence of the Phantom, which includes Christine. My question is does it ever occur to her that her angel of music = the Phantom (before he reveals this to her)? I know she doesn't from the movie obviously. But really imagine if you were her, it's hard not to relate your angel of music to the Phantom, both are hidden and happen only in the opera (coaching/singing etc) the years living there. And why are people afraid of the Phantom? Does he commit anything evil or murder before the movie (before Christine takes Carlotta's place)?
Answer: The "Opera Ghost" had actually been causing various acts of mischief and mayhem long before the events of the movie begin with the new owners purchasing the opera. The previous owners were being extorted for money. Fears and rumors about the Phantom were rampant. Early in the film, he causes a backdrop to fall near Carlotta, for whom he has had a lasting disdain. Christine probably should have made the connection between the Phantom and her "angel of music." But the "angel" had actually been introduced to her as a tutor and mentor by her father, whom she loved and trusted, so she had no reason to view him suspiciously. Christine was also very sheltered, incredibly naive, and captivated by her teacher and suitor. Their bond was so strong, and her dependence so great, she was blinded to what seems to us an obvious connection.
Question: What is the song playing when Napoleon is riding the horse up to the wedding? It is a symphony playing with French horns and strings predominantly.
Answer: Forever young.
Question: When the away team first beams down to the location where the shuttle has crash landed, the serial number on the separated nacelle is visible as 1701-D, as also seems to be inscribed on the shuttle itself. Shouldn't this serial number only appear on shuttles coming from the USS Enterprise?
Answer: The crashed shuttle is Shuttlecraft-13, which came from The Enterprise. Troi took it to the conference that she was returning from.
Question: At the end, Maura Tierney is lying on Al Pacino's bed, having a nap/sleep. Are we then to presume they had sex before Pacino went to the airport to catch his plane back to LA?
Answer: OMG, even my 7-year old daughter realised that the scene was made for the exact opposite reason. Dormer and Tierney talked "all night" and Tierney was sleepy. Dormer and Tierney had a genuine (if short-lived) friendship. Her sleeping on his bed only referred to their trust in one another. His bed had no metaphorical meaning. In fact, it was Ellie who developed a strong crush on Dormer. A crush that interfered with her objectivity as a policewoman.
Chosen answer: Since no answer is given in the film, the audience must make their own assumptions.
Question: What was the purpose of the bag on the hood ornament of the police car in the beginning of the movie?
Answer: You fill the canvas bag with water, put it somewhere where the air can blow through, and the evaporation of the water seeping through the canvas creates cool water inside.
Answer: The bag is "spare" radiator water for when you're in the desert.
Question: How is Rey able to control a Stormtrooper's mind, when trying to escape from the torture chair, after only a few attempts? Luke knew that he was Force-sensitive for three years before he met Yoda, and still has very limited abilities when Yoda begins to train him.
Answer: When Kylo Ren is attempting to read her mind it is clear that she manages to push back. It is possible that in the process of this she gained a glimpse of how to use the force. There are also many theories that she started training as a Jedi when young but repressed the memories after all the other training Jedi were killed.
Question: When Bourne and Marie arrive at his Paris apartment, Bourne phones a hotel to inquire if a 'Jason Bourne' was a guest there. When told no, he then asks if his other alias - John Michael Kane - was registered. He is told by hotel staff that Mr. Kane has been killed in an accident. (This is before Treadstone's Rome operative tries to eliminate Bourne in the apartment.) So I'm guessing this first report of Kane's accidental death had been arranged by Treadstone? To cover Bourne's trail to Wombosi's yacht?
Chosen answer: That's correct. Nicky arranged for a substitute corpse to appear as if "John Michael Kane" had died in a motorcycle accident, to cover up the connection to Bourne's mission once Treadstone realised Bourne had failed and disappeared. However, Wombosi saw the body at the morgue and deduced the deception, and Bourne later discovered that body is "taken" by the brother so deduced that it's a setup all together.
Question: When the four main guys are first coming down the slope in 1986, the two from the ski patrol apparently don't recognize Jacob's snowboard. Though snowboards were still largely unknown in 1986, wouldn't someone who worked for a popular ski resort recognize them?
Chosen answer: The James Bond film "A View To A Kill" came out the year before in 1985. In the film, Bond's snowscooter is blown up by the Soviets, so he takes a wrecked ski from it and improvises it into a snowboard. Snowboards existed at the time, however, it wasn't until that film that their existence became well known. One year later in 1986, they'd still be very rare, but it's likely that his wasn't the first that the ski patrol had seen.
Question: In the end, the Pterosaurs fly away from Isla Sorna for a new home. Where on Earth would they go and wouldn't they attack and kill any human or animal there?
Answer: The island was located west of Costa Rica in the pacific so its likely they are headed for the Americas or Galapagos islands. They won't likely start hunting on animals and humans as they are thought to be fish eaters and thus would stay near the coast and avoid contact with land animals, especially predators. The reason they attack the humans in the bird cage is because of malnutrition and captivity related stress.
Question: What are the chances of four guys of their age ACTUALLY passing the physical to the required standards? I know they all kept reasonably fit but they struggled with running etc. so it seems unlikely they would pass all the tests. I know movie rules dictate suspense of disbelief to a certain degree, I'm just wondering what their chances would be in reality.
Answer: Eastwood would be out on height alone and the rest probably have high blood pressure. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/pdf/606877main_FS-2011-11-057-JSC-astro_trng.pdf.
Chosen answer: It wasn't a matter of how physically fit they were, but that their particular combination of knowledge, skills, and past experiences were needed for this specific mission. The physical criteria would be amended in order to recruit them for that mission.
They were specifically told they wouldn't be given an easier ride and would need to pass the exact same tests as the younger astronauts. The physical criteria wouldn't have been amended to suit them so is it possible for 4 guys of this age to pass?
Remember that at some point in the process it became a political issue - the old cowboys were wanted for their PR value, so physical test results would have been "fudged", if not ignored altogether.
Agree that the physical requirements were a major plot point and part of the 'deal' for the team to go, but there was some relaxing of requirements and politics. In general, the answer is YES, old folks can go to space without major fudging of the requirements as was demonstrated by lots of astronauts in their late 50s, a few in their 60s, and John Genn at 77. Just recently an 82-year-old woman flew on Jeff Bezos' tourist rocket.
Question: In this episode, as the Professor is put into a trance, in the background, there seems to be a radio or television transmission tower that can be seen over the roof of the hut. It's blurry, but doesn't seem to be a standard palm tree. Is this a mistake, or set error, or my imagination?
Chosen answer: It looks like a mistake to me I see it when the Professor is put into a trance, but it is not there later.
Nobody Says Rat Fink Anymore - S8-E10
Question: Harry recognizes one of the defendants who used to bully him when they were both children. Harry says that he can't participate in the case because of this, and also because that would make it a conflict of interest. Wouldn't any cases where his father was brought before him also be considered a conflict of interest, and why would Harry be allowed to preside over his father's cases?
Answer: Harry's father only came to his court as a defendant once (about trying to start a mutiny on the ferry). Harry said he was going to recuse himself when Christine said the Dept. Of Transportation had already dropped the charges, so it was a moot point.
Answer: Harry recuses himself from the case because of his own conflict of interest, however, his father is usually brought in for simple public disturbances and with his mental health record, gets remanded to a mental facility for examination. In cases like those, the judge's task is little more than signing a form, so there's not really a question of impartiality to be considered.
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Answer: Given the thin atmosphere and cold, the potatoes would have been nearly instantly frozen and partially dehydrated. They would still be edible and nutritious.
Grumpy Scot
Indeed-in the book, he mentions storing the extra potatoes in bags outside, so they would freeze and not rot. This especially came into play when he was making the journey to the other landing site.
Smokyoak